Santa Clarita Valley office vacancies rise slightly

Santa Clarita’s first-quarter office vacancy rate rose slightly as one business moved out of the area and another, smaller firm moved in.

Cinetech Media on Tourney Road operated locally for years, said Ryan House, vice president for Jones Lang LaSalle.

The firm’s lease expired on the 25,000 square feet of space it occupied, and it opted to consolidate into other offices outside the Santa Clarita Valley market, he said.

A new tenant leased space on Avenue Stanford in the Valencia Industrial Center, House said. But the yet-to-be-named tenant only leased 15,000 square feet.

The change in office occupancy caused the office vacancy rate to rise from 16.5 percent to 17 percent during the first quarter, he said.

“It’s still a very respectable vacancy number compared to other markets,” House said. “I wouldn’t consider it too high.”

Rental rates have also stabilized somewhat and could rise over the next 12 to 18 months. While the rental rates haven’t changed much, landlords are holding more firm on their asking rates rather than negotiating them, he said.

Asking rates ran $27.20 per square foot for Class A space and $21.85 for Class B space, according to a first-quarter report by Jones Land LaSalle.

The Santa Clarita market differs from others, such as the San Fernando Valley, because it is relatively small, House said.

“You don’t have as many large-space occupiers in this market,” he said. “And so many of them have renewed their leases on a long-term basis within the past 24 months that it will help stabilize this market.”

A trend House did note in the office space market is a high level of activity involving buildings with sufficient parking to accommodate medical uses, he said.